Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Of Gods and Monsters: Ray Harryhausen, 1920-2013

My dad's a graphic artist. In 1992, his company sent him down to the Portland Creative Conference, when people had money and could do stuff like that. While there, he met a number of artsy folk both mainstream and cult--Chuck Jones, Joe Dante--and among them was Ray Harryhausen.

My dad couldn't help but ask: "how long did it take to do just a few movements on some of those monsters, anyhow?"

Harryhausen shrugged. "I have no idea. Had I thought about it, I never would have done it."

Time doesn't exist even in the most complicated of tasks, if you're really, really into what you're doing. We should all be so blessed.

5 comments:

That's a wonderful thought, Laura, and the perfect tribute to Ray Harryhausen. Unlike a lot of the film community, I didn't really grow up with his movies, but I'm still grateful to the legacy the man left and I find his imagination and love for fantasy inspiring. How cool that your dad got to meet him!

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